“What concerns me greatly is the evidence of dishonesty in the reporting out of Lebanon,” Downer said, adding later that “it is beyond serious dispute that this episode has all the makings of a hoax”.

I was in Tyre on the night of the attack and investigated the incident closely the next day. On July 24, with photographer Stewart Innes, we spoke to Qassem Shalin, who was recovering from a minor wound to his chin that nurses had bandaged to stop it from turning septic. We also visited Ahmed Mohammed Fawaz, whose lower left leg had been amputated and whose severe burns ironically had saved his life by sealing blood vessels and arteries. His son writhed in pain nearby, his stomach riddled with shrapnel and the rear of his scalp opened up.

OK, emotive but it doesn’t prove they received their injuries in the ambulance and visiting the alleged ambulance the next day doesn’t do much for his case either.

The original issue of the story showed the ambulance with a neat hole in the centre of the roof as proof of an Israeli missile strike and whereas the the vehicle could’ve taken a hit, it was much earlier than claimed and was, if anything, an airburst.  No missile entered that vehicle and exploded and after 25 years in the army I can confidentially state that’s a ballistic fact.

Chulov says he visited Qassem Shalin (Shaalan in a Times piece) who has been quoted as saying the missile punched a hole in the roof, as if that is proof positive of the event.  He  said so, ergo, it is true, is hardly proof positive.

We know that this type of propaganda is a terrorist tactic; they’ve done it before and will do it again and why not if the press accept it at face value.

It works.  The majority of the press believe it because they want to and the mug punters cop it as they get all their news from Channel Nine or similar and never question what a prima donna talking head says.